Stratford’s No. 03160 – East end favourite

A typical 1970s era ‘standard’ locomotive displaying the common features of vacuum-brakes combined with Swindon’s ‘steam chimney’ style exhaust.

No. 03160 represents one of the numerically significant standard vacuum-braked machines with ‘flowerpot’ style exhaust stack. Built at Swindon Works as D2160, it took up its first duties working from York shed on September 5th, 1960. After nearly seven years pottering around the numerous yards and sidings of the cathedral city the Eastern Region authorities re-deployed the 204hp 0-6-0 machine to Holbeck (Leeds) in January 1967.

The end of the 1960s saw the first withdrawals of the type as the wagonload freight network contracted with a resultant reduction in demand for shunting locos. Fortunately, D2160 survived this early rationalisation and, in May 1971, was reallocated to Colchester where it was renumbered in March 1975 as 03160 under the TOPS computerisation programme.

September 1978 saw another move but this time just a short trip down the Great Eastern main line to the large traction maintenance depot at Stratford, East London. Here, along with several classmates, it was best known for performing marshalling duties at Poplar Docks on the River Thames – an activity that even featured during a chase scene in the ‘The Professionals’, a popular TV action series.

Reducing levels of vacuum-braked freight and two decades of hard work finally took their toll in 1981 when the loco was stored in April and subsequently withdrawn in December. It was cut-up at C.F. Booth’s scrap yard, Rotherham, during April 1983.

The decoration of our model accurately reflects its condition when allocated to Stratford shed during the late 1970s, including the original full complement of marker lights, single warning horn, early style data panels and yellow painted bufferbeams.

The production run has been delivered and these models will never be re-issued.